Card clothing trimming machine



July 3, 1934. H. MIDGLEY CARD CLOTHING TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 3, 1934. H. MIDGLEY CARD CLOTHING TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19. 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 J .III I ll lull July 3, 1934. H. MIDGLEY CARD CLOTHING TRIMMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 19, 1932 H. MIDGLEY CARD CLOTHING TRIMMING MACHINE July 3, 1934.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 19, 1932 mum...

Patented July 3, 1934 UNITED STATES CARD CLOTHING TRIMMING MACHINE Herbert Midgley, Worcester, Mass; Worcester Bank & Trust Company, executor of said Herbert Midgley, decease d, assignor to The Howard Brothers Manufacturing Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application J anuary. 19

5 Claims.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a machine of the type generally used for trimming the edges of card clothing with simple and inexpensive means whereby the opposite edges of the card clothing can be trimmed conveniently at such an angle that when the card clothing is wound on the cylinder, the upper edges will come close together and there will be no projecting lower edges in contact with the cylinder to keep them apart; to provide means for yoking together the two overhanging cutters so that they will be in more stable relationship to each other and the vibration of the corresponding cutters on the same shafts will be reduced; and to provide simple means for securing the adjustment of the sleeves in which the bearings are mounted on the stationary part of the machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan of a machine constructed inaccordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view as indicated by the arrow 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view showing the rear of the means for yoking the outer cutters together, as indicated by the arrow 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on a line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the gearing for connecting the two shafts;

Fig. 6 is a plan of the plates through which the cutters operate and associated parts;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6 showing also the cutters in the act of trimming the card clothing, and

Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views on the lines 8--8 and 9-9 respectively of- Fig. 6.

The invention is shown as applied to a known type of card clothing trimming machine involving a table 10 suitably supported and provided with a path over which the card clothing 11 passes. The machine is designed for the purpose of trimming the opposite edges of the card clothing or other strip or sheet material while the latter moves continuously. As the card clothing emerges from the trimming cutters, it passes between two guides 12 and 13 which are fixed and adjusted as usual. These control the position of the card clothing in the machine. These guides are fixed, one of them adjustably to the table or to brackets supported thereby.

Fixed to the table are two stationary brackets 14 and 15, one extending directly upward and the other downward. On the two bracketsare 1932, Serial No. 587,566

a pair of screws 16 which operate a pair of slides 1'7, obviously to move them vertically. Each slide carries a shaft as 18 directly and it also carries a horizontal bar 19. The position of course of all these parts is controlled by the adjusting screws 16 above and below the table. These shafts 18 are knife shafts and they carry fixed thereon a pair of cutters 20 which rotate with the shafts. These rotary cutters are arranged to cut in a single plane which is on one side of one cutter and on the other side of the other cutter. These shafts are provided with extensions 21 which carry another pair of cutters 22 arranged like the cutters 20 but oppositely. Although the cutters 22 are rotated by the shafts 18 or rather the extensions 21 by means of slots 23 carried by these extensions, theyare supported in roller bearings carried by a pair of heads 27 supported by the bars 19.

The cutters 22 are carried directly on sleeves 25 located inside these heads 27 concentrically, of course. The two sets of roller bearings are secured in place by well known arrangements on the screw-threaded end of each one of the sleeves 25, shown here as nuts and check nuts 26. A sleeve 24 in each case is fixed in the cylindrical head 27 on the end of the bar 19 which is curved at the end to bring these into horizontal position in axial alignment with the shaft 18. The construction is the same for the upper and the lower cutter. Thus these overhanging cutters are supported by the bars 19 with as much rigidity as possible.

For the purpose of increasing this rigidity, the two heads 27 are secured together by a yoke 280 which is fixed to one head and adjustably secured by a bolt and slot 290 to the other. This arrangement prevents the vibration of one of these cutters except in exact synchronism with the other and increases the rigidity with which they are mounted.

The shafts 13 are provided with gears 28 which mesh with gears 29. The gears 29 mesh with each other and one of them is driven by a chain or belt 30 from a motor or other operating means, not shown. Thus these shafts with their cutters always rotate together at the same speed.

The two bars 19 of course are horizontal and cylindrical, preferably one below the table and the other above it. For the purpose of adjusting the cutters 22 through these bars, a rod 32 is provided having two gears 33 one at the top and the other at the bottom adjacent to these parts. Each bar-is provided with a rack 34 arranged longitudinally. On the top of the rod 32 is a hand wheel which can be turned for the adjustment of the cutters 22 out and in. They will move simultaneously of course in whichever direction the rod is turned. The rod, it should have been stated, in each case is mounted in a hub 36 carried by one or the other of the frames 17 and this hub has an opening through it through which the gear 33 engages the rack.

The adjustment of the cutters 22 by this means is made by a hand wheel 3'7 and. screw 38, one of course on each of the bars 19, mounted on collars 39 adapted to be secured to the bars by said screws. Also each collar 39 is provided with a projection 40 in which is a hand screw 41 with an end 42 adapted to engage the slide 17, one being located below and one above the table. Before the screw 38 is tightened up, this screw 41 can beoperated for a finer adjustment of the bar with respect to the slide 17 than can be obtained by the gear and rack so that each of the bars 19 can be adjusted slightly to bring the two cutters 22 into proper cutting relationship with each other. The adjustment of the bar 19 and the head 36 is secured by additional thumb-screws 43, one

above and one below.

The shaft 18 is held in roller bearings in a fixed casing 44 on the slide 17. These bearings are held in position by internal nuts 45 and lock nuts 45a. Another adjustment which is employed is in the form of a pair of small screws 46 arranged longitudinally and having heads 47. These screws are adjustable in projections on the slides 17 and their heads come up against shoulders on the casing 44. They can be adjusted individually so as to move these shoulders and therefore bring the cutters 20 into proper cutting relationship with each other. This is a fine adjustment to be made after the adjustment through the racks 34.

, It is individual for each cutter.

Ordinarily when card clothing, which is trimmed in the usual way with its edges perpendicular to its top and bottom surfaces, is wound on the cylinder of a carding machine in a helical manner, the outer edges of the adjacent strands of card clothing are slightly separated from each other. This is due to the fact that the inner edges of the card clothing naturally come into contact in the helical winding and prevent the outer edges from engaging each other intimately. For

the purpose of avoiding this difficulty and allowing the outer edges, and in fact forcing them, to come into contact with each other, I have provided means whereby these edges are bevelled in the ordinary edge trimming operation. This is a radical departure from all previous trimming of card clothing because this trimming is done by rotary knives which normally could not bevel these edges unless they were set on inclined axes. Naturally that would unduly complicate a machine of this kind and I have provided means for accomplishing this result that is extremely simple and effective.

Inserted in the top of the table are two opposite plates 50 which are supported on two lower plates 51. The rear plates are secured to the table 10 by screws 52 or the like. One pair of plates is placed on each side and the pair on the back is fixed in stationary position. The pair on the front are secured together by screws 49 and made adjustable along the recess in the table in which they are mounted to provide for the adjustment of the outer cutters 22. Through each upper plate is a longitudinal downwardly flaring slot 53 which is made wider at the center than at the ends for the reception of the pair of cutters 20 or 22 and the lower plate also is provided with wider openings 54 underneath the same. The slots 53 are bevelled inwardly so as to support the card clothing to a point closely adjacent to the line of cutting. Two plates are used because there is wear on the edges of these openings 53 and the upper plate can be removed and replaced very easily without disturbing the lower plate.

.Each plate is provided with an opening 55 for the waste to pass through so that it can extend down out of the machine.

The adjustment above referred to is provided by an extension 56 on the outer plate 50 secured to it by screws and having a pair of notches 57. On the lower head 27 are located two brackets 58 which project upwardly to a distance considerably above the plate. 50 and through the notches 5'7. Consequently as this head is moved back and forth the plate 50 is moved with it. This plate is not secured to the table but is freely slidable. The brackets 58 are made to project above the plates to allow for vertical adjustment.

The method of securing a. bevelled edge is to mount these two plates 51 on studs 59 screwing into and through these plates. These studs have convex ends engaging the bottom of the recess in the table 10 in which these plates are located. On their inner ends the plates are supported merely by the bottom of this recess and near their outer ends they are supported by these studs. The studs can be screwed in until they project beyond the bottoms of these plates as shown in Fig. '7 which tilts the plates downwardly at their centers. The card clothing rests on these plates at its edges and of course, as it is held down by a plow 60, as usual, at the center, it tilts upwardly at its two edges. This places the edges of the card clothing in such position that the vertical cuts secured by the pairs of cutters 20 and 22 will perform a slanting cut on the card clothing and leave the edges of the card clothing slightly bevelled inwardly at the bottom.

This produces a card clothing which can be wound helically on the cylinder without separating the outside edges of the card clothing where they are supposed to meet. Thus this card clothing can be wound on the. cylinder perfectly and there will be no spaces between the teeth at the edges of the card clothing. The trimming of course takes place just at the point at which the series of wires across the card clothing terminates.

It will be seen therefore that the ordinary fault just described which appears in all card clothing cylinders now on the market is obviated by this simple mechanism which does not in,- crease the complexity of the machine. It will be seen further that the overhanging heads are anchored together and vibration thus reduced and that the placing of the ball bearings supporting the power ends of the shafts 18 can be adjusted slightly in addition to the adjustment secured by the racks 34 and their gears.

Although I have illustrated and described only one form of the invention, I am aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but what I do claim is:--

1. In a machine for trimming the edges of card clothing, the combination of a central plow for holding down the center of the card clothing, two pairs of cutters for trimming the opposite edges of the card clothing, arranged to make vertical cuts, supports for the edges of the card clothing at the points where it is cut, and means for holding said supports at an inclination so that the card clothing will be distorted at the points of cutting and the edges of the card clothing will be cut on a bevel inwardly from the front surface thereof.

2. In a machine for trimming the edge of card clothing, the combination with a pair of cutters arranged to provide a vertical cut to trim the edge of card clothing, a plate having a slot through which the cutters pass, a surface on which said plate rests, and a projection extending beyond the bottom of the plate against said surface to bring the plate into an upwardly inclined position at the edge of the card clothing and support the card clothing in the same inclined position at the point of cutting.

3. In a machine for trimming card clothing, the combination of a pair of cutters for trimming one edge movably mounted, a pair of overhung movable heads for supporting the cutters, and

means for firmly and positively tying said heads together to prevent independent vibration of said heads.

4. In a machine for trimming the edges of card clothing, the combination of a cutter shaft, a stationary part, a sleeve carried by said stationary part and having shoulders at opposite ends and provided with bearings for the shaft, and a pair of longitudinal screws carried by said stationary part and having their ends adapted to engage the opposite shoulders, whereby said screws can be adjusted to regulate the position of the sleeve with respect to said stationary part.

5. In a machine for trimming the edges of card clothing on a bevel, the combination with two pairs of trimming cutters arranged vertically, of two plates widely spaced apart and oppositely inclined, and means for holding down the center of the card clothing, for supporting the card clothing at its edges only so that the holdingdown means will help to tilt the card clothing up at both edges, for the purpose described.

HERBERT MIDGLEY. 

